March 25, 2008

The History Channel Brand Name is History

The History Channel has shortened its name to simply History and has literally thought outside the box with its logo by taking it out of its box altogether. This follows the industry’s tendency to refer to a channel in a shortened version of its original name. In this case History.

TV Jab finds this move “slightly disturbing,” not because they have a problem with the name, but because of the perception that History (formerly the History Channel) is trying to become more “hip.”

At the same time, TV Squad notes that the channel is known in some quarters as “The Hitler Channel” because of the number of World War II documentaries you can see there and worries that the name will alienate its core audience. I don't think so. The channel's programming and its audience is much broader than its original focus on World War II.

At least one civil war historian feels the same way, bemoaning the channel’s move towards “immersive” adventure documentaries about truckers and loggers.

The fact is, dropping the word channel from the name allows History to get into other forms of media. It’s a logical move on the part of the channel that many did not believe could be profitable in the first place.

The same thing was said about the Learning Channel, the Discovery Channel, the Weather Channel and the original Financial News Channel. Oh, people thought Ted Turner "was crazy" when he established CNN, who would want to watch news 24/7? Apparently many people around the world, including world leaders.